


Here with Me

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Drama, Episode: s16e19 Granting Immunity, Friendship, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 01:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5028553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But there was rarely a time that Olivia laughed when he didn’t smile.  There wasn’t a lot he could do to make it better.  Maybe he could do this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here with Me

“Hey.” Rafael got off the elevator and walked toward her. “I saw Fin leaving as I was coming up.”

“No more coffee.” Olivia held out her hand and shook her head. She was already wired and needed to come down.

“OK.” He dropped it in the trash without a second thought. “How is he?”

“He has measles.”

“Dammit.”

“He was just vaccinated a week ago. With his weakened respiratory system he was susceptible to illness. We were doing so well after the last infection.”

“What did the doctor say?” he sat down beside her right outside of the ward. 

All those cribs in there, sick kids in most of them. Rafael could only commend the men and women who worked these wards daily. Some of those kids wouldn’t go home, no matter how brave they were. Just thinking about that being Noah made his stomach turn.

“Its going to get worse before it gets better.” Liv replied. “I got to spend a little time with him this evening but I can't go back there too much. He needs to be kept in a near quarantine.”

“I'm sorry.” He put his hand on her shoulder. 

Life had been so tough on Noah already and now this. Rafael couldn’t imagine the emotional roller coaster that Liv was on. Every bump, every bruise, every hospital stay…mom was expected to be there. And no doubt this would get back to social services. 

They would come in asking a bunch of questions while doing nothing whatsoever to help. There was really nothing to do except let the doctors handle this. Noah was going to get the best care. He was going to need it.

“You shouldn’t be here now, I'm sure your hands are full with the Tribeca Academy debacle.”

“I was glad to leave that behind for a while. I would’ve come anyway; you're my friend.”

“I'm kind of falling apart at the moment.”

“All the more reason for someone to be with you. Unless you want to be alone. I won't stay if you want me to go.”

Olivia looked at him. She wanted so many things right now but one of them wasn’t to be alone. All she could think about was Noah not making it. His little body had already withstood so much, how much more was he expected to handle? She wanted to protect him from all the things that could ever harm him. Instead she was helpless while he struggled through the pain. Taking a deep breath, and trying not to cry again, Liv put her hand on Rafael’s knee.

“I don’t know what to do.” she said.

“Well we can start with something to eat. I know you probably don’t want to leave the ward but you’ve consumed too much caffeine today to not feed it. You're about three minutes from going full blown, post-weekend Bobbie Marko.”

“I'm not that bad.” Liv laughed. “I hope I'm not that bad.”

Rafael smiled. It was just a little sound, a small moment of joy in a volcano of chaos. But there was rarely a time that Olivia laughed when he didn’t smile. There wasn’t a lot he could do to make it better. Maybe he could do this.

“That’s only because you made me get rid of the last cup of coffee.” He said. “We can go to the cafeteria; they're open until eight. We can get some soup or a burger; maybe some decaf herbal tea. If you want to bring it back up here that shouldn’t be a problem. But I don’t want you getting light headed and passing out. Noah’s gonna wanna see your face again before the end of the night.”

“I really hope they're not expecting me to go home.”

“These people have advanced degrees, Liv…they're smarter than that.”

“I'm not going to ask you to stay.” She shook her head.

“You don’t have to ask me.”

“Counselor…”

“C'mon,” he took her hand and stood from the incredibly uncomfortable chair. “We’ll bicker over food. I know you don’t want to leave him but it'll only be a few minutes. You need the fuel.”

There wasn’t a lot of room left for argument. Olivia hadn’t eaten in hours and the coffee was burning off. Her stomach grumbled a few times before Rafael showed up but she just ignored it. It was probably a good idea to stop doing that. So she got up too, still holding on to him, and let Rafael guide her over to the elevator. 

Olivia let one of the nurses know that she was just going to the cafeteria for dinner and would be right back. The nurse thought that was a good idea. Between her work for SVU and her sick baby, a lot of the nurses on the ward knew Olivia pretty well. Noah still had a long way to go; he would need his mom to be strong as he got better.

***

“You need the protein.” He said.

Olivia smirked when Rafael added more chicken to her grilled chicken salad. She put in romaine lettuce, cucumbers, a few cherry tomatoes, and added light honey mustard dressing. Rafael got the grilled chicken burger and a large order of fries as he was sure that she would help him eat them. Carrying Olivia’s bottle of water and his pineapple mango juice, Rafael walked over to the register. Olivia was right behind him.

“They put all the bad things here.” He grumbled, looking at the cupcakes he wasn’t going to purchase. He thought a bag of salted pecans was a good idea though.

“I could use a cupcake.” Olivia said.

“You can have whatever you want.” He told her before turning to the cashier. “This is altogether, including the red velvet cupcake.”

“Counselor…”

“I can't buy you dinner now? This is news to me.”

“I just don’t want you to overextend.” She said.

“On hospital cafeteria food?” Rafael raised an eyebrow.

“On me.”

“Well if it makes you feel any better,” he put his debit card back into his wallet. “You're carrying your own bag.” 

Olivia smiled, taking the salad, water, and cupcake as they made their way out the door and back to the elevators. She and Rafael didn’t speak much on the way up. There were things to say but it wasn’t always easy to find the words. So Olivia sighed, putting her chin on his shoulder. He tilted his head so that their temples almost touched. 

That was enough for now. She wasn’t alone anymore. This was a scary situation and Olivia didn’t want to be alone. Nick and Fin were great; they would never leave as long as she needed them. With the ADA it was just a little more. 

She found this little bit of peace in her belly, despite the grumbling, when he was with her. It didn’t mean that everything would be alright…it was just too soon to know. But she did know that he wouldn’t leave her side. She would get through it and he would support her.

***

The waiting room thinned out as the evening wore on. One of the nurses thankfully muted all the televisions; the noise was driving Rafael insane. They also turned off the overhead fluorescents and went for the more muted lamplight. Olivia devoured her salad. She also ate half of Rafael’s fries and her cupcake. 

Doctor Lee let her spend a few minutes with Noah before they gave him some baby meds that would hopefully knock him out. When she returned, Olivia tried her best but failed not to cry. Rafael wrapped his arms around her and just held on. She was the mom; she was allowed these emotions. He never expected Olivia to cry herself to sleep. 

Over the past few days, caring for Noah as he got sicker, sleep had probably been the last thing on her mind. The way her body collapsed against Rafael’s it was more like passed out in exhaustion. Noah was here, Noah was safe, and mom could let go just a little bit. He pressed a light kiss to her forehead, unable to stop the smile on his face when Olivia’s sleeping arms wrapped around him. 

This was new but there wasn’t a need to make too much of it. Rafael was just glad that she was comfortable enough with him to let go and rest. A little while later one of the nurses came in with a blanket for them. At that point he was drifting between sleep and muted episodes of _Teen Titans_ on one of the overhead televisions.

She came out of her haze of sleep slowly, not sure what was going on. Olivia remembered the hospital; the sounds and smells came back almost immediately. She remembered Noah being sick and her friends coming to sit with her as she waited. She remembered Rafael and the French fries. 

It was Rafael, that’s whose arms she was sleeping in. They were wrapped in a blanket now so one of the nurses must have took pity on them. Sliding her arm from around his waist, Olivia looked at her watch. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and the small numbers. 

“I'm awake.” Rafael mumbled though he didn’t bother to move.

“It’s after eleven.” Olivia said. She wasn’t sure how much after eleven but definitely after eleven.

“You should probably go home and get some sleep.”

“I'm not leaving.” She shook her head.

“Liv…”

“Don’t try to talk me out of it, Counselor, I'm not leaving.”

“Just come home with me.”

“I'm sorry?”

Rafael opened his eyes and sighed. His stomach muscles were sore, his shoulders slumped, and his arms were tired. This couch thing was one of the most uncomfortable places he'd ever slept. They should definitely look into making hospital waiting rooms more comfortable for families. He pushed the blanket down and put a little space between him and Olivia.

“I live closer to the hospital than you do so you can come home with me. If anything happens in the middle of the night we can rush back here. But Noah is sleeping and he’s gathering his strength so he can fight this. You have to do the same and it cannot be done on this thing they call a couch. Please,” he took her hands. “Listen to me for once.”

“I don’t want to leave him.”

“I know, and he knows too. He knows he has the best mom in the world. Just one night, Liv. One night of full sleep with breakfast in the morning. Then you can come back here and be with Noah. Your squad has a good handle on the ever-growing Tribeca Academy case so you can be here. Not tonight though.”

“Can I say no?” Liv asked.

“Yes.” Rafael nodded. “But if you stay then I stay too.”

“Are you sure?”

“We leave together or we stay together…that’s the deal.”

Olivia nodded. She stood from the couch, doing a full head to toe stretch. Rafael was surprised when she sat down again and moved into his arms. OK, so they were staying. He wasn’t going to push her about it. 

In the morning they would both be a mess of aching limbs but he wasn’t leaving her. Maybe Olivia would change her mind in a couple of hours. Maybe she wouldn’t. No matter what the decision was, they would be together. Anything else Rafael could deal with tomorrow.

***


End file.
